Xct Mu Bu Pm Pc 27Travelling on a Boat With a Nun

The Rule on a Bhikkhunī Boarding a Boat — Nāvābhiruhana

Background

The Nāvābhiruhana rule is found in the Pātimokkha, the collection of basic disciplinary rules of the Bhikkhunī Sangha in the Theravāda tradition. This is one of the rules concerning the daily actions of female monastics, especially regulations about communication and contact with men.

In the historical context, the Buddha established the Bhikkhunī Sangha with eight pure conditions called garudhammas, weighty principles. These were intended to ensure the preservation of the spirit of practice and protect the credibility of the Bhikkhunī Sangha. The Nāvābhiruhana rule reflects one of those important principles: regulations about a bhikkhunī not boarding a boat alone with men, especially men who are not members of the Sangha or close blood relatives.

Main Content

This rule states that a bhikkhunī is not permitted to board a boat or travel on water alone with a man, or with only two or three men, except in special permitted cases. The rule was established to avoid situations that could lead to suspicion, slander, or conduct inconsistent with the Buddha’s discipline.

Specifically, this regulation sets strict conditions: a bhikkhunī may travel by boat or vessel when she has protection, such as other bhikkhunīs, trustworthy people, or members of the Sangha. Without such persons, boarding a boat alone with men is considered a Saṅghādisesa offense, a rule involving the Sangha.

The text emphasizes the principle of protecting the honor of the individual female monastic and of the entire Bhikkhunī Sangha. This is not reluctance or laxity, but purposeful caution: avoiding opportunities for distortion, false accusation, or genuinely dangerous situations.